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profession to assess its skills set and abil-
ity to meet the challenging environment.
In meeting the development chal-
lenges of our country, Pretorius states that
CESA has to partner with government
and key industry roleplayers. ”Unlocking
opportunities identified, requires us to
partner with government as its trusted
advisor. This is particularly relevant in
developing an improved procurement
environment for the consulting engineer-
ing profession. “
CESA’s pa r t ne r sh i ps wi t h t he
International Federation of Consulting
Engineers (FIDIC ), as well as the
regional block of the Southern African
Development Communities and the rest
of Africa, is of utmost importance to fur-
ther ensure quality and uniformity in
engineering consulting practice and cre-
ating a conducive business environment
for working within Africa. Although a sig-
nificant emphasis is placed on partnering
with government, CESA is the voice of
consulting engineering and will continue
to play an active advocacy role in the
larger built environment profession. CESA
has to continue to identify corruption,
blow the whistle and work with authori-
ties towards eradicating it.
“One of the strategic goals of our
country is the economic transforma-
tion of previous marginalised groups,”
Pretorius says. “As consulting engineers,
we practice in the construction sector
that has the potential to significantly con-
tribute towards the transformation and
economic empowerment agenda of our
country. CESA, as part of the construction
sector, is currently involved in follow-up
negotiations to update the scorecard.
The transformation of business and our
sector in particular, is of strategic impor-
tance. Adherence to BBBEE is the way we
do business in South Africa and CESA and
its members are positioning themselves
to meet this opportunity.
“We need not view transformation,
rightfully so or wrongfully so, as a loss of
business but howwe do business in South
Africa. At CESA we are clear about our role
as the voice of consulting engineering
and being a trusted advisor to our clients.
We know what we have to do. Going for-
ward we will ensure that we, as consult-
ing engineers, contribute towards South
Africa’s social and economic growth.”
CESA’s membership, currently rep-
resenting 537 firms employing just over
24 366 staff, who collectively earn a
total fee income of R23,4-billion/year,
is well-positioned to respond to this
challenge.
AROUND THE INDUSTRY
(CESA)
president
Lynne
Pretorius.